Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sep 20, 2004 / 12:00 am (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro published this week a voting guide for Catholics who will go to the ballot box on October 3 for municipal elections.

Based on Christian ethics and on the social teaching of the Church, the 12-point document of the Archdiocese led by Cardinal Eusebio Scheid exhorts Catholics to vote responsibly and denounces several of the most serious problems facing the country, such as unemployment, prostitution, drug use, and child labor exploitation.

The guide, which was sent to over 246 parishes, urges Brazilians to work to improve the living conditions for the country’s large poor population.

It also warns the faithful concerning candidates whose campaigns have become overly negative or bureaucratic and encourages the forming of “local committees to oversee the electoral process,” calling on voters to reject offers to buy their votes in exchange for personal favors or benefits.

The Archdiocese took the occasion of the release of the guide to defend an “integral formation of the human person, including his religious dimension,” and called for the implementation of a municipal law that permits religion to be taught in public schools.

The guide concludes with a call to the faithful to make the coming elections “a gesture of love for the city.”